Pirates drop home finale late to Monmouth

Andrew Lombardo

16 May 2017

In what was a closely contested battle, Monmouth defeated Seton Hall baseball Tuesday by a score of 7-2. Although the final score appears lopsided, the game itself was tied most of the way until Monmouth broke out for five runs in the eighth inning. The loss drops the Pirates to 28-21 on the season.

At the plate, the Pirates were led by centerfielder Ryan Ramiz and first baseman Matt Toke. Ramiz set the table for the Pirates at the top of the order, finishing the day 3-for-4 with a double and run scored. Toke went 2-for-4 and also drove in one of the Pirates’ two runs. The rest of the Pirates’ lineup struggled mightily, as it combined for only two more hits.

Photo via SHU Athletics

On the mound, Seton Hall head coach Rob Sheppard elected to rotate his pitchers after only a couple relievers saw time throughout the Pirates entire weekend series in Villanova. Shane McCarthy, pitching outside of the usual three-man rotation, pitched three mostly steady innings of no-run ball before Sheppard went to the bullpen. However, as soon as Sheppard pulled him Monmouth scored its first run of the game off Pirates reliever Billy Layne Jr.

From there six more Pirate relievers saw action to varying degrees of success. Matt Leon took the loss for the Pirates, coming on in the eighth and allowing two runs to score before handing the ball off to Ryan Testani in a tricky circumstance with two runners on and nobody out. All told Monmouth put together five runs in the eighth to take a 7-2 commanding lead.

The Pirates will now take on Southeastern Louisiana for a three-game series starting this Thursday. There the Pirates will look to close out their season on a high note before heading to Omaha, Neb. for the Big East Tournament.

Andrew Lombardo can be reached at andrew.lombardo@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @lombardo_andrew.